A personal bar, whether it's located in your sitting room, family room or basement, has got to be one of the sweetest, personal treasures. You can entertain friends or be solitary. Here's information about creating affective lighting to build a space tailored to your personality.

• Over the Bar: Pendants, puck lights, and architectural tracks are typically used for contemporary bar designs. Patrons and owners, alike, prefer the focused spotlight and alternating layers of light and dark washes. Ceiling Fans are also used in bars and restaurants in tropical environments. The Islander Fan is a popular style. They're also great for circulating fresh air in a busy environment.
• On the Bar: A table lamp to accent the space.
• Under the Bar: Puck lights, Rope lights and LED strips are becoming common methods of lighting counter tops.
• Liquor Display: Recessed lighting placed above the display area or under-cabinet LDE strips and puck lights placed below each shelf are a common means of highlighting the bar's liquor display areas.
• Wall Lighting: Wall sconces create washes of light while leaving certain areas dim, preferable for creating intimate spaces.
• Daylight: Big Windows because people go out during the day too.

Additional Areas:

About the Author: Akemi Hong is a writer and graphic designer. You"ll find Akemi occupied indoors as a marketing and design associate for 1STOPlighting.   

Many people can't afford a new car and many banks still hesitate to loan out money. So if you do have a well-used car, take some time to watch EcoDriving USA's video. They also provide tips for conserving gas while driving and maintaining your vehicle into a greener machine. And yes, you can find Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger greeting you on the homepage. Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado has also joined this campaign.
These vehicle fuel economy practices help. But it's only one way of being more eco-conscious. It will become a commercial standard one day for cars to exceed the 30 mpg average. In the meantime, live, walk, ride or take public transportation to work. There are many ways to enjoy life, not just when we're speeding along.

Summer just ended and my childhood nights chasing after fireflies are long gone. But the idea persists. I found this LED garden light in Readymade's blog. But the idea itself was created by Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.  All you need are diffused lens LEDs, CR2032 lithium coin cells, blue tape and mason pickling/jelly jars. These lights are temporary. I believe the above faux firefly lantern is based on a similar idea with a wire branch connecting four "floating" yellow LED lights. Give yourself some time to ground ship your lithium coin cells but in total, according to Mad Scientist, each LED garden light costs $1.50 max. Throw yourself a Fall party when the leaves are changing or you can go inside if it's too chilly and watch "Grave of the Fireflies".

Technical Tip: Try to match the forward voltage & current of your LED with the chosen lithium coin cell. At best, get a lithium coin cell with a built-in resistor. A fellow blogger has recommended Ohm's Law to determine the resistor value: resistance = (supply voltage - LED forward voltage) / (LED max forward current). Others have recommended using solar cells as an energy source too. Oh, the options...